MUNICH— Maxvorstadt

This area is found northeast of the Old Town. It contains nine museums that are within walking distance of each other. The museums are found in two areas, one around Konigsplatz and the other which contains the Pinakotheken, just north of it. Three of Munich’s largest universities are also found here and you will find lots of students. There are also lots of secondhand bookshops, cafes, pubs and a number of affordable boutiques.

Königsplatz
This square was commissioned by Ludwig 1 but it wasn’t completed until 1862, nearly 14 years after Ludwig abdicated the throne. It was designed as a place where Munich residents could enjoy visual and performing arts presentations and displays and the area around here today is home to Munich’s gallery and museum quarter. The Königplatz was used for the Nazi Party’s mass rallies. The Brown House which was the national headquarters of the Nazi Party in Germany was located at 45 Briennerstrasse close to the square. The Führerbau where the Munich Agreement was signed in 1938 is still found here but today it is a school for music and theatre. In summer concerts are held here sometimes.

Glyptothek
This museum is Munich’s oldest and one of its best museums. It contains Germany’s largest collection of ancient Greek and Roman sculpture. Included in its exhibits are the famous pediments from the Greek Aphaia Temple of Aegina as well as the Barberini Faun which is a wonderful marble statue of a sleeping satyr.
For more information about this museum visit the following website: http://www.antike-am-koenigsplatz.mwn.de/glyptothek/index.html

✈ Traveller's Tip ✈

If you visit in summer you may be lucky to catch some classical theatre under the stars which takes place here. Check the website for details.

Antikensammlungen
This museum found near the Glyptothek specialises in smaller objects, glassware, gold and silver. It is especially noted for its collection of antique and Etruscan vases which was started by King Ludwig I. It was destroyed during WW11 but it was rebuilt and reopened in 1967. The museum houses more than 650 Greek vases which have been collected from all parts of the Mediterranean and these have been restored to near-perfect condition. The oldest piece found in the museum, The goddess from Aegina, dates from 3000 B.C. There are also collections of Greek, Roman, and Etruscan jewellery and ornaments, Etruscan bronzes, and Greek and Roman sculptures and statues.
For more information about this museum visit the following website:
http://www.antike-am-koenigsplatz.mwn.de/antikensammlung/index.html

Hochschule für Musik und Theater Munchen
The University for Music and Performing Arts is one of the most respected universities in Germany specialising in the performing arts. It located at Arcisstrasse on the eastern side of the Königsplatz. When it was founded in 1846 it was a private institute but in 1867 King Ludwig II changed it into the Royal Bavarian Music School and he privately paid for it until it received the status of state institution in 1874. It has been renamed several times and the original building was destroyed in WW2. The rather sombre and imposing current building was constructed for the Nazi party and was called the Führerbau. Neville Chamberlain and Adolf Hitler signed the Munich Agreement in this building in 1938. Hitler's office is now a rehearsal room but little has been changed since it was built.

Lenbachhaus
This museum was originally the villa of the artist Franz von Lenbach and contains some wonderful paintings from artists of the 19th and 20th centuries. The most famous paintings found here are the works of the ‘Blue Rider’ group which began in Munich before the First World War. Some of the highlights include Blue Horse I by Franz Marc; Portrait of the Dancer Aleksandr Sakharov by Alexey von Jawlensky; Rose Garden by Paul Klee; Jawlensky and Werefkin by Gabriele Münter and Bertolt Brecht by Rudolf Schlichter. Contemporary art is also represented here and paintings are shown on a rotating basis in the Kunstbau which is an underground room found above the metro station in Königsplatz.
For more information visit the website at: http://www.lenbachhaus.de/cms/index.php?id=1&no_cache=1&L=1

Pälaontologisches Museum
This museum is found near the Technical University. It has a collection of fossils and other archaeological finds mostly of Bavarian origin. The highlight of the museum is the skeleton of the Archaeopteryx which is a bird-like dinosaur. There are also the remains of a colossal prehistoric elephant from Bavaria. This is a great place to come if you are travelling with children and it has the added bonus of being free.
For more information about this museum visit the website at:
http://www.palmuc.de/pal_museum/struktur/frameinfo.html

Alte Pinakothek
This art gallery displays more than 800 paintings from the 14th to the 18th centuries. There are many masterpieces found here but some of the highlights are found in the ‘Dürersaal’ upstairs which contains works by Albrecht Dürer such as his Self Portrait and his Four Apostles. Some of the paintings from the Flemish collection are wonderful and include such artists as Rubens, Van Dyck and Rembrandt. Other noted works are by the artists Raphael; Titian; Tintoretto; Frans Hals; Murillo and Velasquez.
For more information about this museum visit the website at:
http://www.pinakothek.de/alte-pinakothek/index_en.php?

Neue Pinakothek
This museum was built by King Ludwig I of Bavaria to house his private collection of contemporary artists. Like many other buildings in Munich this was destroyed in WW2 and had to be rebuilt. It contains paintings ranging from classicism to art nouveau and is now considered one of the most important museums of art of the 19th century in the world. Some of the highlights include those by Caspar David Friedrich such as his Reisengebirge Landscape with Rising Mist. There are also many popular works from Degas, Gauguin, Manet and of course one of Van Gogh’s Sunflowers would have to be worth a visit.
For more information about this museum visit the following website:
http://www.pinakothek.de/neue-pinakothek/index_en.php?

Pinakothek der Moderne
This museum consists of four museums under one roof consisting of art, works on paper, architecture and design. The building itself is quite spectacular inside with its fantastic dome and its light filled rooms and curved walls. It contains a wonderful collection of 20th and 21st century art including works from Picasso, Dali, Klee, Kandinsky and Warhol.
For more information about this museum visit the following website:
http://www.pinakothek.de/pinakothek-der-moderne/englisch/englisch.htm

✈ Traveller's Tip ✈

If you are into design make sure you visit the basement which houses what is probably the world’s largest collection. It is just wonderful.

Museum Brandhorst
This museum is the newest addition to the ‘Kunstareal’ museum complex which includes the Alte and Neue Pinakothek as well as the Pinakothek der Moderne and was only opened to the public in May 2009. It is a fascinating building with its magnificent glass windows and mostly white walls flooding it with natural light. The museum houses an impressive collection of modern art including more than 60 works by Cy Twombly and an impressive collection of works from Andy Warhol. Other artists include Joseph Beuys; Mario Merz; Jannis Kounellis; Sigmar Polke; Georg Baselitz; Gerhard Richter; Bruce Nauman; Damien Hirst; Jean-Michel Basquiat and Mike Kelley.
For more information about this museum visit the following website:
http://www.museum-brandhorst.de/en/visitor-information.html

Museum Reich der Kristalle
If you love precious jewels then this is the museum for you. It contains a fantastic display of diamonds, rubies, sapphires and other jewels with interesting explanations of how these stones are formed. There is also a section devoted to meteorites which is very interesting. The highlight of the museum is the magnificent Takowaya Emerald.
For more information about this museum visit the following website:
http://www.lrz-muenchen.de/~Mineralogische.Staatssammlung/MSM.html

Siemens Forum
This museum is a showcase for Siemens technology. It includes the history of electrical, electronics, medical, and communications developments since the company began in Berlin in 1847. The main exhibit hall contains a display of products including a generator that powered the first lights in Berlin; the first implantable pacemaker; cell phones; computers; telephones; consumer electronics and appliances. There is also a model of the first electric rail car developed by Siemens in 1879. It features new exhibitions that change every few months.
For more information about this museum visit the website at:
http://w1.siemens.com/siemensforum/en/index.htm